As Deadline for 9/11 Aid Nears, Many Relatives Haven't Filed

By DAVID W. CHEN

Published: November 22, 2003

Members of New York's Congressional delegation say the federal government's ambitious effort to compensate the relatives of Sept. 11 victims will fall far short of its intent if Congress does not act soon to extend the Dec. 22 deadline for filing claims.

Were such a shortfall to occur, it would amount to a major disappointment in what was seen as an extraordinary attempt to compensate thousands of people quickly and generously for one of the worst catastrophes on American soil.

So far, about 1,800 families, or only 60 percent of those eligible, have filed claims on behalf of relatives killed at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and aboard an airliner that crashed in Pennsylvania. That is many fewer than the initial prediction by the fund's administrator, Kenneth R. Feinberg, that 90 to 95 percent of the families would take part. The government has also dispensed far less money to families than the $5 billion that Mr. Feinberg had predicted, writing checks totaling $1.1 billion for death claims, or an average of $1.7 million per family.

In addition, 1,600 injured people have filed claims, just a small fraction of the thousands of rescue workers and bystanders who are believed to have been hurt.

In recent months, especially since the second anniversary of the attacks, the number of filings has increased to as many as 184 in a single week, fueling optimism among fund administrators that there will be an 11th-hour spike in applications.

Even if the current pace of filing continues, however, the fund is likely to reach its December deadline with hundreds, if not thousands, of eligible families empty-handed. And those who did not file the legal groundwork for a lawsuit against the airlines, New York City or other government entities will be out of options for compensation.

Several members of Congress from New York, including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Representatives Jerrold Nadler and Vito J. Fossella, are pressing the Senate and House to pass companion bills that would extend the fund's filing deadline to Dec. 31, 2004.

''When so many people have yet to file, not only the families but hundreds of injured ground zero workers, I would say a failure to extend the deadline would be more than a shame,'' Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, a Manhattan Democrat, said yesterday. ''I don't think anyone imagined the enormity of what the families would face after the disaster, the struggles over the memorial design, the constant replay of the attacks on TV. All of this makes it easy to understand that this deadline is coming too soon for many of these families.''

The lawmakers concede that their effort is a long shot, with the legislation having to clear both houses as Congress tries to grapple with bigger priorities, like Medicare and an energy bill, before it adjourns for the year. But they see a chance to slip it through in the rush of bills.

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 was established by Congress in the days after the terror attacks, in part to protect the airlines from ruinous litigation. Families were asked to waive their right to sue, in exchange for a fast and straightforward process that would award a basic tax-free $250,000 payment for every death, then increase it to reflect a family's economic loss as a result of the death.

Many families who have gone through the process say that after an inauspicious start, the fund's administrator, Mr. Feinberg, has been compassionate and generous in his awards. (Congress did not appropriate a set amount, but authorized Mr. Feinberg to pay what he deemed fit.)

In an interview yesterday, Mr. Feinberg predicted that 85 to 90 percent of the families would file on time and that his staff, which is now working around the clock, would finish its work by June. He declined to say whether he favored an extension, but said he would continue traveling almost nonstop around the country in a last-minute promotional push.

''I believe that people who miss this deadline out of fear, or out of grief, are compounding the tragedy of 9/11,'' he said. ''I think that this is an unprecedented opportunity, and I will meet with any family that wants help in this very, very difficult assignment.''

Some families have filed preliminary papers allowing them to sue, and are weighing whether to join the 70 or so people who have filed lawsuits and shunned the fund. But recent court decisions have confused many families as to how long they have to make that decision.

Some families say that they do not want to accept money from a government that they feel could have done more to prevent the attacks.

Others, especially high-income families who lost a breadwinner, have calculated that an award, which deducts life insurance and workers' compensation, would be insufficient. And still others say they are still too caught up in their grief to take on the paperwork, and memories, involved in filing a claim.

Fund officials say it is easy for people to start the application process, with only minimal documentation, by the December deadline. But they caution that the process can then require several months of gathering documents, answering questions and other work.

William Doyle, whose son Joey died in the trade center and who maintains one of the largest e-mail networks of victims' families, said more than 100 people had contacted him in just the last week about the deadline, unsure of what to do.

''I'm telling you, it takes a long time to get documents, so a lot of people need the extension, a lot of people need it,'' he said. ''There's no question in my mind that there are people who are going to get shut out. There's definitely panic.''

The anxiety surrounding the deadline has been brewing since September, when only about 40 percent of those eligible to submit death claims had filed.

A month ago, the National Center for Victims of Crime, a Washington-based advocacy group, found that 87 percent of the families of the dead, including many who had already filed, supported a deadline extension. Now, with this week's announcement of the finalists for the ground zero memorial design, and with the holidays approaching, many families may not have the emotional reserves to tackle the fund.

''I am still encountering family members who are just, for the first time, able to talk about this,'' said Senator Clinton, who is a co-sponsor of a Senate bill to extend the deadline, submitted by Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont.

Some people have qualms about moving the deadline. Justin T. Green, a partner at Kreindler & Kreindler, which represents almost 500 families, said any talk of an extension might lull some people into a dangerous game of procrastination.

It may be unfair to judge the fund's success solely on statistics. If one family is satisfied, then the fund has arguably done its job, said Larry S. Stewart, who is a former president of Trial Lawyers Care, a national consortium of pro bono lawyers set up to help Sept. 11 families.

Still, Mr. Stewart said the low turnout puzzled him.

''It's surprising that more people have not taken advantage,'' he said. ''I think we'll look back on this, and social scientists will try to analyze why so many people did not file.''